It is summertime, which means we are smack dab in the middle of wedding season.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the grad students in our lab got married and did a nice job of incorporating some chemistry into the mix. Each table was named after one of the couple’s favorite molecules, and it was no coincidence that the delegation from our lab was seated at the alcohol dehydrogenase table:

Pretty cool — and I love the glassware. Congrats to M & A and A & C for getting hitched and representin’ chemistry at the same time. (Also, many thanks to the fabulous GK for the photos.)

These chemical wedding ideas are awesome, but I generally spend more time planning my dream funeral. Since chemistry is a big part of my life, I’d like to make sure it is also a part of the celebration of my death. In ancient Egypt, people were buried with items thought necessary or useful in the afterlife. These included everyday items like food, utensils, and furniture. In this vein, I would like to be buried with a few pieces of lab equipment when I kick the bucket.

First off, I’ll need some PPE. I’ll stick with with the traditional dress pants, shirt, and tie (yellow, please), but I’d like a Nomex lab coat in lieu of a sports jacket. Next, I want a pristine 7″ NMR tube with a purple cap placed in my top left pocket. In one of my trouser pockets, I’d like a set of 24/40-to-vial adapters. Nothing beats ending a synthesis by rotavapping your product directly in its final container.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked the blog’s Facebook fans and Twitter followers what they’d like to be buried with. Here are some of the responses:

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